1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a trivalent chromium complex compound and milk products containing the same, and a method of producing the complex compound and the milk products.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, diabetic patients can be classified as having either type I or type II diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, NIDDM). However about 90% of the diabetic patients have type II diabetes. In 1996, the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation estimated that there are a total of 132 million diabetic patients worldwide and it will increase to 240 million in 2010. Approximately 3%-15% of the populations in many countries are affected by diabetes. Developing countries, such as China, will register the greatest increase in their diabetic population. Diabetes is a serious disease that we need to cure.
Trivalent chromium is found distributed in many tissues in our body, with the liver and kidney containing the highest amounts. It is a trace element that is needed to for the metabolism of sugar, protein and fat in the human body.
According to the study conducted in the United Kindom by Davies et al. (Metabolism, 46:469-473,1997) on 40,872 patients, it was observed that the chromium concentration in our serum decreases as we age. The serum chromium concentration is 0.5 ng/ml in babies and starts to decline until 0.3 ng/ml in adults over 70 years old. The concentration of chromium in sera of patients with type II diabetes, were usually 0.2 ng/ml, which is much below of the normal person which average around 0.5 ng/ml.
In addition, strenuous labor, pregnancy, obesity, old age, alcohol abuse, surgery and infection can all cause the excretion of trivalent chromium and lead to its deficiency. If not enough chromium is being replenished, the body will be deficient in this trace element, and cause the clinical symptoms of type II diabetes.
According to various researches, organic chromium may profitably improve insulin function, normal glucose metabolism, protein generation, lipid metabolism, plus reduce the possibility of maturity-onset diabetes and heart disease, and help in weight control.
The appropriate organic chromium, for example, chromium picolinate, chromium nicotinate, chromium GTF, chromium yeast extract, low-molecular weight Cr-binding substance, etc. , can be supplemented to diabetics for curing, or added into dietary supplements for adult.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,855 mentions a chromium-nicotinate GTF (glucose tolerance factor) material obtained by reacting an alkali metal salt of nicotinic acid with a trivalent chromium salt. U.S. Pat. No. 5,872,102 describes a method for a low-molecular weight Cr-binding substance isolated from bivine liver.
The present invention discloses another novel organic chromium complex compound and application thereof, and displays a method of producing the same.
The object of the present invention is to provide a trivalent chromium complex compound and milk products containing the same, which can be used to control diabetes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing trivalent chromium complex compound and milk products containing the same.
To achieve the object, the procedure is performed primarily by heating a trivalent chromium compound and lactoferrin together to obtain the trivalent chromium complex compound, which can be further added into milk to obtain trivalent chromium milk products.
The milk used in the present invention is not strictly limited, e.g. milk of human, cow, goat, sheep, horse, deer, camel, etc. , preserved milk, concentrated milk, cheese, or milk powder.
The whey protein used in the present invention can be any unpurified whey protein obtained from cow milk, sheep milk, goat milk, human milk or milk of other mammals.
The lactoferrin used in the present invention can be cow lactoferrin, sheep lactoferrin, goat lactoferrin, human lactoferrin or lactoferrin from other mammals. Lactoferrin is a single-chained glycoprotein able to combine with metal ions, such as Fe(III), V(III), Cr(III), Mn(III), Co(III), etc., even in an acidic environment (pH=2 to 3). Each lactoferrin molecule can be bound with two Fe(III), and the binding positions are the same for both Cr(III) and Fe(III).
The lactoferrin primarily exists in whey, but it can also be found in tear, saliva, pancreatic juice, vagina secretion, sperm, etc. The lactoferrin is widely antibiotic, and able to regulate the immune system of human body.
By adding the trivalent chromium complex compound into milk, the trivalent chromium milk product is obtained, which can be effectively absorbed and utilized by the human body to supplement the organic chromium and hence effectively control the concentration of blood sugar.
The trivalent chromium complex compound and the milk products containing the same of the present invention can improve the normal metabolism of carbohydrates, therefore, it can be a healthy food or a therapeutic agent to relieve the symptoms of diabetics.
In the present invention, the method of producing the trivalent chromium complex compound includes the steps of: (a) providing at least a trivalent chromium compound, which can be selected from the group consisting of chromium (III) chloride with six molecules of crystal water, chromium (III) chloride, chromium (III) acetate, chromium (III) nitrate, chromium (III) oxide, chromium (III) sulfate, and other organic or inorganic trivalent chromium; (b) adding lactoferrin or whey protein to form a mixture; and (c) heating the mixture to obtain the trivalent chromium complex compound at a temperature range between 37xc2x0 C. and 95xc2x0 C. with stirring.
The method of producing the trivalent chromium milk products in the present invention includes the above procedure and a further step of: (d) adding the trivalent chromium complex compound into milk to obtain the trivalent chromium milk products.
In the present invention, the trivalent chromium compound can be selected from organic or inorganic chromium, e.g. chromium (III) chloride with six molecules of crystal water, chromium (III) chloride, chromium (III) acetate, chromium (III) nitrate, chromium (III) oxide, chromium (III) sulfate and other organic or inorganic trivalent chromium.
The heating temperature in the producing process ranges between 37xc2x0 C. and 95xc2x0 C., preferably between 60xc2x0 C. and 80xc2x0 C., and with full stirring for mixing well.
The lactoferrin used in the present invention can be cow lactoferrin, sheep lactoferrin, goat lactoferrin, human lactoferrin or lactoferrin from other mammals. Since the lactoferrin primarily exists in whey, the unpurified whey protein from various mammals can be used in the present invention.